Optimized external trace formats

ABSTRACT

A system and method for program counter and data tracing is disclosed. Generated trace messages are included within a trace word format and stored in trace memory, thereby enabling a reduction in the amount of trace storage required.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to program counter (PC) and data tracing, and more specifically to the compressed storage of PC and data tracing information.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

Computer systems process information according to a program that includes a sequence of instructions defined by an application program or an operating system. Typically, a program counter provides a series of memory addresses that are used by the processor for fetching instructions stored in the associated memory. In this process, the processor conveys the memory address to the memory over an address bus, and the memory responds over an instruction/data bus with the instruction stored in the addressed memory location. The instructions stored in the memory constitute the program to be executed.

Program development relies heavily on the verification of the instructions stored in memory as well as their corresponding execution. This task represents an ever-increasing burden due to the growth in software complexity and the increase in processor clock speeds. Typically, these debug efforts are supported by instruction tracing tools that generate a listing of executed instructions during the execution of a program.

Computer engineers rely on tracing results to gain a view of process and data states while the computer system is operating. Hardware engineers rely on tracing results to determine how new computer hardware architectures perform with existing operating systems and application programs. Finally, software engineers rely on tracing results to identify critical code segments and data structures.

In general, the cost of developing and debugging new software products can be a significant factor in processor selection. A processor's failure to adequately support software debug efforts can result in longer development times. This factor can easily reduce the processor's attractiveness to particular segments of the processor industry. What is needed therefore is a tracing system that enables increased control and flexibility in the tracing process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a tracing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a timing diagram of tracing signals.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate tracing output from an instruction pipeline according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates a timing diagram of tracing signals from multiple instruction pipelines.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a first trace control register.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a trace record including software state information.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a second trace control register.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of dynamic compression selection.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of a trace control block and its supported interfaces.

FIGS. 11–19 illustrate an embodiment of a set of trace message formats.

FIG. 20 illustrates an embodiment of a trace word format.

FIGS. 21 and 22 illustrate an example of the creation of trace words using an example trace sequence.

FIG. 23 illustrates a distributed test access port (TAP) control environment.

FIG. 24 illustrates a JTAG state machine.

FIG. 25 illustrates a timing diagram of a distributed TAP control.

FIG. 26 illustrates an embodiment of trace control block registers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the invention is discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The provision of increased control and flexibility in the tracing process enables hardware, software, and computer engineers to effectively debug the operation of a computer system. These debugging efforts are enhanced when increased visibility is provided into the hardware and software state of the processor core. This is particularly true when dealing with embedded processors where specialized on-chip circuitry is often combined with the processor core. Support for these debug efforts is provided by an embodiment of a tracing system described below with reference to FIG. 1.

In the illustrated embodiment, tracing system 100 includes on-chip components (i.e., components on a common substrate) identified as microprocessor core 110, trace generation logic (TGL) 120, trace control block (TCB) 130, and test access port (TAP) controller 140. TGL 120 can be embodied as part of microprocessor core 110. TGL 120 is generally operative to generate program counter (PC) and data trace information based on the execution of program code in one or more pipelines within microprocessor core 110. TGL 120 transmits the generated trace information to TCB 130 via trace interface 180. An embodiment of trace interface 180 is described in greater detail below.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, TCB 130 is located on-chip but is external to microprocessor core 110. TCB 130 captures the trace information that is provided by TGL 120 on trace interface 180 and writes the trace information to trace memory 150. The format used by TCB 130 in writing trace information to trace memory 150 is implementation dependent. An embodiment of trace message storage formats is described in detail below.

It is a feature of the present invention that the specification of trace interface 180 enables an embedded processor developer to design a customized TCB 130. The customized TCB 130 can be designed to store trace data in trace memory 150 in accordance with a particular set of requirements. For example, TCB 130 can be designed to produce trace data that is targeted for the particular needs of trace re-generation software 160.

Also included on-chip is TAP controller 140. TAP controller 140 includes instruction, data, and control registers as well as circuitry that enables tap controller 140 to access internal debug registers and to monitor and control the microprocessor core's address and data buses. In one embodiment, TAP controller 140 is based on the extended JTAG (EJTAG) specification developed by MIPS Technologies, Inc.

As noted, trace memory 150 stores trace information that is received from TCB 130. In the illustrated embodiment, trace memory 150 is located off-chip. In an alternative embodiment, trace memory 150 is located on-chip. The decision of where to locate trace memory 150 can be based on user requirements such as the desired size of trace memory 150. For example, if the desired size of trace memory 150 is too large to fit on-chip, it can be located off-chip. This flexibility in design is particularly important in the embedded processor world where die size costs are significant.

The trace information stored in trace memory 150 can be retrieved through trace regeneration software 160. Trace regeneration software 160 is a post-processing software module that enables trace reconstruction. Debugger 170 is also implemented as a software module. Debugger 170 interfaces with TAP controller 140 and is generally operative to display TAP states as well as provide high-level commands to TAP controller 140. For example, debugger 170 can be used to set breakpoints or examine contents of certain sections of memory.

Having described the general components of tracing system 100, a detailed description of an embodiment of trace interface 180 is now provided. As will become apparent from the following description, trace interface 180 enables increased flexibility in controlling the content and accessibility of trace data within microprocessor core 110.

In describing trace interface 180, an embodiment of a set of input and output signals from microprocessor core 110 is described. The example set of output signals are described first in the context of the transmission of trace data from TGL 120 to TCB 130. Next, the example set of input signals are described in the context of the transmission of control information from TCB 130 to TGL 120. It should be noted that in this description, the “PDO_” prefix to a signal name is used to identify signals belonging to the output interface from TGL 120, while the “PDI_” prefix to a signal name is used to identify signals belonging to the input interface to TGL 120.

In one embodiment, the set of output signals includes the signals listed in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Output Signal Name Description PDO_IamTracing Global enable signal for signals output from the microprocessor core PDO_InsComp Instruction completion status signal PDO_AD Trace bus for trace data PDO_TType Specifies the transmission type for the transaction on the PDO_AD lines PDO_TEnd Indicates the last cycle of the current transaction PDO_TMode Indicates the transmission mode for the bits transmitted on PDO_AD PDO_LoadOrder Indicates the out-of-order-ness of load data PDO_Overflow Indicates an internal FIFO overflow error PDO_PgmOrder Indicates the static program schedule of instructions executing in multi-pipeline cores

The operation and content of the example set of output signals in trace interface 180 between TGL 120 and TCB 130 is described in detail below. To illustrate the protocol by which trace information generated by processor core 110 can be transmitted by processor core 110 to TCB 130 via TGL 120, reference is made to the timing diagram of FIG. 2. Timing diagram 200 generally illustrates the interaction of Pclk (processor clock used by microprocessor core 110, TGL 120 and TCB 130, PDO_InsComp[2:0], PDO_TType[2:0], PDO_TEnd, PDO_AD[15:0], PDO_TMode, and PDO_Overflow in tracing out information to TCB 130.

One of the output signals that is not illustrated in timing diagram 200 is PDO_IamTracing. This signal, sent out from TGL 120, indicates that the rest of the Out signals represent valid trace data. In effect, PDO_IamTracing represents an enable signal for the rest of the Out signals. As will be described in greater detail below, this signal can be used to support software control of the tracing process. In particular, this signal is used by TCB 130 to determine whether the trace data output by TGL 120 is valid or not valid.

Prior to describing the interaction of output signals in timing diagram 200, the usage of the PDO_InsComp[2:0] signal is first discussed. In general, PDO_InsComp[2:0] is an instruction completion status signal that can be used as an indicator of completed instructions and their type in the processor's pipeline. In one embodiment, PDO_InsComp[2:0] can take on the values of Table 2.

TABLE 2 PDO_InsComp Description 000 No instruction completed this cycle (NI) 001 Instruction completed this cycle (I) 010 Instruction completed this cycle was a load (IL) 011 Instruction completed this cycle was a store (IS) 100 Instruction completed this cycle was a PC sync (IPC) 101 Instruction branched this cycle (IB) 110 Instruction branched this cycle was a load (ILB) 111 Instruction branched this cycle was a store (ISB)

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, the PDO_InsComp signal is output by TGL 120 at a point in the processor pipeline at which the instruction must complete and can no longer be killed. FIG. 3 illustrates the trace tap points in relation to the illustrated embodiment of instruction pipeline 300.

As illustrated, instruction pipeline 300 includes six stages. These six stages are labeled as fetch stage 310, decode stage 320, execute stage 330, memory stage 340, align stage 350, and writeback stage 360. As further illustrated, the PDO_InsComp signal is output after memory stage 340, the point at which the instruction should complete and can no longer be aborted. In general, the specific point at which an instruction completion signal is generated is dependent upon the particular implementation of the instruction pipeline.

Referring back to Table 2, the various values of PDO_InsComp are now described. The first PDO_InsComp value ‘000’ is associated with a No Instruction complete (NI) indication. In one example, the NI indication can be used when the instruction pipeline is stalled. In another example, the NI indication can be used when an instruction is killed due to an exception.

The next set of PDO_InsComp values ‘001,’ ‘010,’ and ‘011’ are associated with the completion of instructions within a basic block. Specifically, ‘001’ is used to signal the completion of a regular instruction (I), ‘010’ is used to signal the completion of a load instruction (IL), and ‘011’ is used to signal the completion of a store instruction (IS). As the I, IL, or IS indication is associated with the completion of an instruction within a basic block, the PC value of the I, IL, or IS instruction need not be traced.

It should be noted, however, that the completion of a load instruction (IL) or a store instruction (IS) may require transmission of other information to make the tracing complete. In general, the transmission of additional information can occur in certain operating modes of the tracing process. As will be described in greater detail below, the user can direct TGL 120, using a PDI_TraceMode signal, to output one or more of the load/store addresses and data in addition to the PC value.

In this framework, when PDO_InsComp indicates a store in the completing instruction, the store address and data is also transmitted provided that the user requires those values to be traced. Similarly, when PDO_InsComp indicates a load in the completing instruction, the load address and data is also transmitted provided that the user requires those values to be traced. In general, if the load instruction hits in the cache, then the trace data for the load instruction is transmitted in a similar manner to the trace data for a store instruction.

If the load misses in the cache and must go to memory, then a different tracing process results. Regardless of whether a delay is incurred in the completion of the load instruction, the load instruction can still be indicated with the appropriate PDO_InsComp value IL and the sending of the load address. The sending of the load data, however, is deferred.

In general, tracing out load data as it becomes available avoids the need to locally save loads that hit in the cache, while waiting for earlier loads that missed in the cache to return. FIG. 4 illustrates this concept in relation to instruction pipeline 400. As noted above, the trace tap points for instruction pipeline 400 are located after memory stage 340, the point at which the instruction should complete and can no longer be killed.

In the illustrated embodiment, the PC, load address, store address, and store data are immediately provided to compression module 410. Load data, on the other hand, are provided to compression module 430 only when the load data is available to load order determination module 420.

If the load data is retrieved from cache, then the load data is immediately available to load order determination module 420. The load data can then be passed on to compression module 420. On the other hand, if the load data is requested from memory, then the load data is not immediately available to load order determination module 420. As noted above, the transmission of the load data is deferred until the load data is returned from memory.

In general, compression modules 410 and 430 are operative to compress the trace data that is to be placed into FIFO 440, thereby awaiting output onto trace bus PDO_AD. As will be described in greater detail below, compression modules 410 and 430 can be configured to dynamically select from the outputs of a plurality of compression options. This plurality of compression options can be selected to generate reasonable compression ratios for a variety of expected data inputs. It should be noted that, in one embodiment, compression modules 410 and 430 can be combined into a single compression module.

Load order determination module 420 is generally operative to coordinate the output of load data that may be delayed due to cache misses. The deferred transmission of load data is enabled through the output of a PDO_LoadOrder[2:0] signal that is designed to signal the out-of-order nature of load data. In one embodiment, the PDO_LoadOrder[2:0] signal can take on the following values of Table 3.

TABLE 3 PDO_LoadOrder Description 000 data from oldest load instruction (is in-order) 001 data from second-oldest load instruction 010 data from third-oldest load instruction 011 data from fourth-oldest load instruction 100 data from fifth-oldest load instruction 101 data from sixth-oldest load instruction 110 data from seventh-oldest load instruction 111 data from eighth-oldest load instruction

As noted, the PDO_LoadOrder[2:0] signal is used to indicate the out-of-order nature of load data that is traced out. In operation, this signal indicates the position of the load in the list of current outstanding loads starting at the oldest. For example, assume that the program issues five loads A, B, C, D, E, respectively. Table 4 below illustrates an example of how these five loads may be traced.

TABLE 4 Load Data Data Traced Load Cycle# CacheOp Available Out PDO_LoadOrder A 1 Miss — — — B 2 Hit B B 001 (second oldest) C 3 Hit C C 001 (second oldest) D 4 Miss — — — E 5 Hit E E 010 (third oldest) — k — A A 000 (oldest) — k + p — D D 000 (oldest)

For simplicity, in this example, it is assumed that the data is available the same clock cycle as the instruction. In reality, there will typically be some fixed pipeline delay from instruction issue to when the data is available from the cache after a hit.

In clock cycle 1, load A misses in the cache and goes to memory. Load A is therefore considered outstanding. In clock cycle 2, load B hits in the cache and is immediately available. Load B is then traced out with the PDO_LoadOrder signal indicating that the load data is the second oldest outstanding load. Based on the values of Table 4, the PDO_LoadOrder signal will have a value of ‘001.’ At this point, load A is considered the oldest outstanding load.

In clock cycle 3, load C hits in the cache and is immediately available. Load C is then traced out with the PDO_LoadOrder signal indicating with a value ‘001’ that the load data is the second oldest outstanding load. At this point, load A is still considered the oldest outstanding load. Load B is not considered outstanding as it was traced out at clock cycle 2.

In clock cycle 4, load D misses in the cache and goes to memory. Load D is therefore considered outstanding. At this point, both load A and load D are the currently outstanding loads. Load A is considered the oldest outstanding load while load D is considered the second oldest outstanding load.

In clock cycle 5, load E hits in the cache and is immediately available. Load E is then traced out with the PDO_LoadOrder signal indicating with a value ‘010’ that the load data is the third oldest outstanding load behind load A and load D.

In clock cycle k, load A returns from memory and is available. Load A is then traced out with the PDO_LoadOrder signal indicating with a value ‘000’ that the load data is the oldest outstanding load.

Finally, in clock cycle k+p, load D returns from memory and is available. Load D is then traced out with the PDO_LoadOrder signal indicating with a value ‘000’ that the load data is the oldest outstanding load.

In general, the use of the PDO_LoadOrder signal enables TGL 120 to avoid having to include memory for storing loads that are returned out-of-order. The loads can simply be traced out as soon as they are available. Out-of-order transfers of data are further described in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/751,747, entitled “Configurable Out-Of-Order Data Transfer in a Coprocessor Interface,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

It should be noted that in one embodiment, if the number of outstanding loads supported by the number of bits in the PDO_LoadOrder signal is exceeded, then an overflow signal is issued. The internal buffers are then cleared and tracing is restarted. If overflows are to be inhibited, then processor core 110 should be stalled until the outstanding loads are satisfied before continuing.

As described, the classification of an instruction as a load or store instruction can influence the tracing process. Additional characteristics of the instruction can also affect the tracing process. In particular, the classification of an instruction as a branch instruction can also affect the tracing process.

As noted, the I, IL, and IS instruction classifications were associated with instructions that resided within a basic block of instructions. Branch instructions, on the other hand, are associated with instructions that were the target of a taken branch, statically predictable or not.

The completion of these types of branch instructions are signaled using the PDO_InsComp values (see Table 2 above) of ‘101,’ ‘110,’ and ‘111.’ Specifically, ‘101’ is used to signal the completion of a regular branch instruction (IB), ‘110’ is used to signal the completion of a load-branch instruction (ILB), and ‘111’ is used to signal the completion of a store-branch instruction (ISB).

The three branch-type encodings (101, 110, and 111) imply that the associated instruction was the target of a taken branch. It should be noted, however, that the branch-type encoding can also be used when an exception is taken and when a return from exception happens since both change the PC value in an unpredictable way.

In general, a branch is indicated on the first instruction in a new basic block. When this first instruction is either a load or a store, then the PDO_InsComp signal takes values ILB or ISB, respectively, to indicate the combined condition of a branch and a load or store.

As noted, some completing instructions transmit other information to make the tracing complete. For example, if the branch was unpredictable and the unpredictability lies in the branch target address, then the PC value should be transmitted. If the unpredictability lies in the branch condition (i.e., determining if the branch is taken or not), on the other hand, then the branch target PC value need not be transmitted. Here, it is sufficient to simply indicate that the branch was taken.

For ISB and ILB indications, the user may require that the target address and/or data be traced along with the transmitted PC value. In particular, for an ISB indication, the PC value is sent first, followed by the store address, and finally the store data. For an ILB indication, the PC value and load address are sent first, followed by the load data when it becomes available.

In general, the tracing of the PC value is important where the PC value could not be statically predicted. Without this information, trace regeneration software 160 is unable to reconstruct the program execution path.

In the present invention, the program trace reconstruction efforts are assisted through the periodic transmission of a PC value. This periodic transmission of the PC value enables trace regeneration software 160 to resynchronize itself to the program trace. Trace regeneration software 160 may require resynchronization in situations where trace information is lost (e.g., trace FIFO overflow). The transmission of general synchronization information beyond the PC value is described in greater detail below.

The periodic transmission of the PC value is signaled using a PDO_InsComp signal value of ‘100,’ which is associated with a PC sync (IPC) indication (see Table 2). The periodic output of the full PC value enables trace regeneration software 160 to resynchronize itself with the output PC trace and the static program code. This full PC value is output approximately every synchronization period as defined by the user. In one embodiment, TGL 120 will ensure that the synchronization signal does not happen on an unpredictable branch, load, or store instruction. The operation and control of the synchronization signal feature is described in greater detail below.

Having defined the various values of the PDO_InsComp signal, the output tracing process is now explained through the example of timing diagram 200 of FIG. 2. Timing diagram 200 illustrates the PDO_InsComp[2:0] signal relative to Pclk. At clock cycle 1, PDO_InsComp[2:0] has a value IB, indicating the completion of a branch instruction. In the following description, the output signals are frequently described with respect to their indication as opposed to their bit values. For example, the PDO_InsComp[2:0] signal bit value ‘101’ is also referred to by its IB value indication.

The value IB represents the completion of an instruction that could not be statically predicted. Accordingly, the PC value for the branch instruction should be traced, thereby enabling trace regeneration software 160 to recreate the execution of a new block of instructions.

The PC value for the branch instruction is transmitted on the trace bus PDO_AD[15:0]. In general, when a PC change, load/store address, or load/store data information needs to be traced, these pieces of trace information are all sent out on the same PDO_AD trace bus. In general, the width of the PDO_AD trace bus is implementation dependent. In one embodiment, the trace bus PDO_AD is configured to be 32-bits wide.

In general, since the width of the PDO_AD trace bus may not be adequate to transmit the entire address or data in one cycle, each transaction may take multiple cycles to transmit. A FIFO (illustrated as element 440 in FIG. 4) is therefore used to hold pending transactions and values. In one embodiment, if a transaction takes multiple cycles, then the least-significant bits are sent first, followed by the more-significant bits. When only a byte of data is sent, it is transmitted on the least-significant bits. In general, there is no need to indicate the validity since the post-analyzing software knows that the associated instruction is a load or store byte, and hence, will only look at the lower 8 bits of a 16-bit bus.

Distinguishing between the types of trace data that are transmitted on the PDO_AD trace bus is accomplished using the PDO_TType[2:0] signal. The PDO_TType[2:0] signal is used to indicate the type of information being transmitted on the PDO_AD bus. In one embodiment, the PDO_TType[2:0] signal can take on the values of Table 5.

TABLE 5 PDO_TType Description 000 No transmission this cycle (NT) 001 Begin transmitting the PC (TPC) 010 Begin transmitting the load address (TLA) 011 Begin transmitting the store address (TSA) 100 Begin transmitting the data value (TD) 101 Begin transmitting the processor mode and the 8-bit ASID value (TMOAS) 110 Begin user-defined trace record - type 1 (TU1) 111 Begin user-defined trace record - type 2 (TU2)

As illustrated in Table 5, various data types can be output on trace bus PDO_AD. A first set of trace data includes PC values (TPC), load address values (TLA), store address values (TSA), and data values (TD). These trace data types are identified using the PDO_TType signal values of ‘001’ to ‘100,’ respectively.

Additional trace data beyond PC, address and data values can also be transmitted on trace bus PDO_AD. Specifically, PDO_TType signal value ‘101’ is used to identify the transmission of processor mode and application space identity (ASID) information. As will be described in greater detail below, the processor mode and ASID information can be included as part of the synchronization information that is periodically transmitted. This portion of the synchronization information enables trace regeneration software 160 to identify the software state of the computer system being traced.

The final data types that can be transmitted on trace bus PDO_AD are user-defined trace records TU1 and TU2. These user-defined trace records are identified using PDO_TType signal values ‘110’ and ‘111,’ respectively. The use of user-defined trace records is described in greater detail below.

In general, the types of trace data that are transmitted on the trace bus PDO_AD is dependent upon the type of instruction that has completed. As noted, for instructions (I) within a block, a PC value need not be transmitted. For load instructions (IL) or store instructions (IS) within a block, however, a user may decide to trace the target address and data.

For branch instructions where there is a jump in PC, several options exist. In one embodiment, the following rules can be applied: (1) when the branch is unconditional and the branch target is predictable, IB, ILB, or ISB is used for the PDO_InsComp value, and the PC value is not traced out; (2) when the branch is conditional, and the branch target is predictable, IB, ILB, or ISB is used only when the branch is taken and there is no need to trace out the PC value; and (3) when the branch is conditional or unconditional, and the branch target is unpredictable, IB, ILB, or ISB is used and the PC value is traced out using TPC for the PDO_TraceType signal.

As an example, the PC value can be transmitted (a) after a JR or JALR instruction; (b) after a control transfer to an exception handler; (c) after a return from exception (ERET or DERET instruction); and (d) for resynchronization purposes.

Returning to timing diagram 200 of FIG. 2, the PC value is transmitted at clock cycle 1 on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0] upon the signaling of an IB signal on PDO_InsComp[2:0]. The type of data that is transmitted on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0] is made known to TCB 130 through the transmission of the TPC value on PDO_TType[2:0].

The transmission of the PC value on PDO_AD[15:0] requires one clock cycle. Accordingly, the PDO_TEnd signal is asserted on clock cycle 1. Generally, the PDO_TEnd signal indicates the last cycle of the current transaction on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0]. This signal can be asserted in the same cycle that a transaction is started implying that the particular transaction only took one cycle to complete.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, timing diagram 200 also includes a PDO_TMode signal. The PDO_TMode signal indicates the transmission mode for the bits transmitted on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0]. As will be described in greater detail below, various types of data compression can be applied to the particular types of trace data. For example, a delta value can be used for the transmission of sequential PC values. Delta compression, however, may not be appropriate to the transmission of data values since those values are unlikely to be sequentially related. For those values, a form of bit-block compression may be more appropriate.

In accordance with the present invention, the PDO_TMode signal can be used to signal to TCB 130 the type of compression that has been performed on the trace data that is transmitted on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0]. This mode information is therefore used by TCB 130 to regenerate the program flow accurately.

As noted, the types of available compression options can be dependent on the trace data type indicated by the PDO_TType signal. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the PDO_TMode signal can have values that are dependent on the PDO_TType signal value. In an alternative embodiment, the PDO_TMode signal has values that are independent of the PDO_TType signal value. In other words, regardless of the type of trace data that is being transmitted, the PDO_TMode will have a value that identifies one of a plurality of eligible compression options. In timing diagram 200, the PDO_TMode signal is left unspecified.

At clock cycle 2, PDO_InsComp[2:0] has a value I, indicating the completion of an instruction within a block of instructions. As noted, the completion of an instruction within a block does not require the tracing of the PC value. Accordingly, no transmission occurs on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0]. The no transmission state is also signaled by the PDO_TType signal with a NT value.

At clock cycle 3, PDO_InsComp[2:0] has a value IB, indicating the completion of another branch instruction. The PC value is then transmitted on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0] with the data type TPC indicated on PDO_TType[2:0]. As illustrated, the transmission of the PC value requires two clock cycles (3 and 4). Accordingly, the PDO_TEnd signal is not asserted until the end of the transaction at clock cycle 4. Also occurring at clock cycle 4 is the signaling of value I on PDO_InsComp[2:0]. This indicates the completion of an instruction within a block of instructions and no transmission on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0] is required.

At clock cycle 5, PDO_InsComp[2:0] has a value IL, indicating the completion of a load instruction. Here, the PC value need not be transmitted. The user can specify, however, that the load address and data be traced. With the assumption that the load hit in the cache, the load address and data is immediately available. The load address is transmitted first on PDO_AD[15:0] at clock cycles 5 and 6, and the load data is transmitted next on PDO_AD[15:0] at clock cycles 7–10. In both cases, the corresponding data type is transmitted on PDO_TType[2:0] using signal values TLA and TD, respectively.

During the load address and data transmission at clock cycles 5–10, PDO_InsComp[2:0] further signals the completion of IL at clock cycle 5, I at clock cycle 6, NI at clock cycles 7–9, and I at clock cycle 10. Each of these instruction-completion indications did not require a transmission on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0]. Accordingly, the trace data FIFO did not overflow as it waited to be cleared during the six-cycle transmission of the load address and data during clock cycles 5–10.

Timing diagram 200 illustrates an overflow condition at clock cycle 18. The overflow indication is indicated by the assertion of the PDO_Overflow signal, thereby indicating an internal FIFO overflow error. As noted earlier, FIFO 440 is used to hold values to be transmitted that do not fit within a single cycle of transmission.

In a FIFO overflow condition, TGL 120 indicates using the PDO_Overflow signal that the current tracing is being abandoned due to a FIFO overflow. In this situation, TGL 120 discards all entries in FIFO 440, and restarts transmission from the next completed instruction. It should be noted that the first instruction to be signalled after the assertion of the PDO_Overflow signal should have its PC value sent as well. In effect, that instruction is treated as a IB, ILB, or ISB instruction.

In timing diagram 200, the internal FIFO overflow error can be attributed to the build up of trace data due to the activity in clock cycles 12–18. At clock cycle 12, PDO_InsComp[2:0] indicates completion of a branch store instruction ISB. The PC value, store address, and store data are then transmitted on trace bus PDO_AD[15:0] at clock cycles 12–13, 14–16, and 17–18, respectively. As the trace data for the ISB indication completes, however, PDO_InsComp[2:0] continues to indicate the completion of additional instructions. Specifically, PDO_InsComp[2:0] indicates the sequential completion of I, IL, IL, IS, IS, and IL instructions at clock cycles 13–18, respectively.

While the completion of instruction I at clock cycle 13 does not require tracing of any data, the completion of the IL and IS instructions on each of clock cycles 14–18 can require tracing of a target address and data. Each of these pieces of trace data continues to fill FIFO 440 as the trace data associated with the ISB instruction at clock cycle 12 completes its transmission on trace bus PDO_AD. FIFO 440 therefore eventually overflows, as shown at clock cycle 18, indicating that FIFO 440 is being filled faster than it is being emptied. It should be noted that when the PDO_Overflow signal is asserted, the values of the other output signals can be disregarded. Accordingly, the PDO_TEnd signal need not be asserted at clock cycle 18.

Upon a FIFO overflow condition, the next instruction to be signaled is treated as an IB, ILB, or ISB instruction. That is, the next instruction to be signaled is treated as if it was the start of a new block of instructions. In timing diagram 200, this effect is seen in the I instruction at clock cycle 19. If the I instruction appeared within a block that was being traced, then the PC value does not have to be traced. In this case, however, the PC value is traced on the trace bus PDO_AD[15:0] because it occurred after the assertion of the overflow signal on PDO_Overflow.

It should be noted that it is possible for the entire program trace to be captured under all circumstances. Trace records need not be lost. Maintaining the integrity of the entire program trace can be accomplished using an inhibit overflow signal PDI_InhibitOverflow.

When the PDI_InhibitOverflow signal is asserted, this implies that microprocessor core 110 should stall the instruction pipeline without overflowing FIFO 440. Thus, if the PDI_InhibitOverflow signal is asserted, the PDO_Overflow signal will not be asserted. The instruction pipeline is restarted as soon as FIFO 440 starts emptying again.

The above description has thus far been focused on the tracing of data for a single instruction pipeline. In accordance with the present invention, the tracing functionality described above can also be supported for a microprocessor core 110 that supports tracing of instructions executed by multiple instruction pipelines.

With multiple instruction pipelines, the tracing of instructions from each instruction pipeline is coordinated so that the instructions that are issued together are also traced out together. To trace instructions out together, TGL 120 should hold instructions that complete earlier than other instructions that were part of the same group of instructions that were issued together.

It should be noted that if microprocessor core 110 implements multiple instruction pipelines, then the “Out” signals are duplicated as many times as there are instruction pipelines within microprocessor core 110. For convenience, the signal names described below have a “_n” appended to the signal name. Here, “n” is used to designate a pre-determined pipeline number. For example, a microprocessor core with two integer pipelines may use the signals PDO_InsComp_(—)0 and PDO_InsComp_(—)1 to represent the instruction completion information from each respective pipeline.

In accordance with the present invention, TGL 120 tags instructions from the same issue cycle. These tagged instructions are held by TGL 120 until all of the instructions in the issue group are either completed or are known to not complete (e.g., exception). The group of instructions can then be traced out together using another “Out” signal, PDO_PgmOrder[2:0]. In one embodiment, TGL 120 includes an extra buffer whose depth is dependent on the instruction pipeline depths.

In general, the program order signal PDO_PgmOrder[2:0] is used to indicate the static schedule of an instruction in a pipeline with respect to instructions in other pipelines. When multiple instruction pipelines are supported, the PDO_PgmOrder[2:0] signal is provided from TGL 120 to TCB 130. When multiple instruction pipelines are not supported, this signal can be omitted or tied off otherwise.

The three bits of the PDO_PgmOrder[2:0] signal allows for up to eight instruction pipelines to be used. Additional bits can also be used to support additional instruction pipelines.

In one embodiment, a PDO_PgmOrder[2:0] value of 0 indicates that the instruction is the earliest in the static program image, a PDO_Pgmmder[2:0] value of 1 indicates that the instruction is the second earliest in the static program image, and so on. The last instruction is the one with the highest value.

To illustrate the use of the PDO_PgmOrder[2:0] signal, reference is made to the assembly fragment in Table 6 and the timing diagram of FIG. 5.

TABLE 6 Cycle Inst. Pipe No. No. PC Instruction # 1 1 0x00400188 SW a2/$6, 0xe170($at/$1) 0 2 2 0x0040018c SW a0/$4, 0xb134(gp/$28) 0 3 3 0x00400190 SW a1/$5, 0xb130(gp/$28) 0 4 4 0x00400194 SW r0/$0, 0x1c(sp/$29) 0 5 0x00400198 JAL 0x418d9c 1 5 6 0x0040019c OR s8/$30, r0/$0, r0/$0 0 7 0x00418d9c NOP 1 6 8 0x00418da0 JR ra/$31 1 9 0x00418da4 NOP 0 7 10 0x004001a0 JAL 0x411c40 1 11 0x004001a4 NOP 0

Table 6 illustrates an example of the execution of an assembly fragment in an environment that includes a dual-issue microprocessor core. The assembly fragment is listed in table 6 based on its PC and Instruction values. For simplicity, the instructions in the assembly fragment are also identified by an instruction number (Inst. No.). The instruction number values are used to identify instruction execution in timing diagram 500 of FIG. 5.

In the dual-issue microprocessor core of the present example, the two instruction pipelines are referred to as instruction pipeline 0 and instruction pipeline 1. Here, it is assumed that instruction pipeline 0 is configured to execute load/store/operate instructions, while instruction pipeline 1 is configured to execute branch/jump/operate instructions. Based upon this assumption, the instructions in the code fragment of Table 6 can be assigned to a particular instruction pipeline for execution.

As illustrated, instructions 1–4 are each store instructions. In our example framework, these instructions can only be executed by instruction pipeline 0. Accordingly, instructions 1–4 are sequentially assigned to instruction pipeline 0 in clock cycles 1–4, respectively. Instruction pipeline 1 is not utilized until one of a brach/jump/operate instruction is executed.

As illustrated in Table 6, instruction pipeline 1 is first utilized at clock cycle 4. At clock cycle 4, store instruction number 4 is executed by instruction pipeline 0, while jump instruction 5 is executed by instruction pipeline 1. As further illustrated, both instruction pipelines are utilized at clock cycles 5–7. Specifically, at clock cycle 5, OR instruction 6 is executed by instruction pipeline 0 and NOP instruction 7 is executed by instruction pipeline 1; at clock cycle 6, jump instruction 8 is executed by instruction pipeline 1 and NOP instruction 9 is executed by instruction pipeline 0; and at clock cycle 7, jump instruction 10 is executed by instruction pipeline 1 and NOP instruction 11 is executed by instruction pipeline 0.

As illustrated, both of the instruction pipelines in the microprocessor core are used in clock cycles 4–7 to execute instructions 4–11. To indicate the static schedule of an instruction in instruction pipeline 0 relative to an instruction in instruction pipeline 1, the PDO_PgmOrder_n signal is used. The PDO_PgmOrder_n signal is an order signal that indicates the order of the instruction in that issue group relative to the other instructions.

It should be noted that the addition of the PDO_PgmOrder_n signal is by itself not sufficient to enable an accurate determination of the static program order. This results since each instruction can spend a different amount of time in each instruction pipeline. In accordance with the present invention, TGL 120 holds all of the early completing instructions in a group of instructions that have been issued together, and then traces the group of instructions out together in the same cycle with the appropriate PDO_PgmOrder_n signal. This additional order signal enables trace regeneration software 160 to reconstruct the program execution correctly.

To illustrate the usage of the PDO_PgmOrder_n signal, reference is made to timing diagram 500 of FIG. 5. Timing diagram 500 illustrates the instruction completion signals PDO_InsComp_(—)0 and PDO_InsComp_(—)1 relative to the program order signals PDO_PgmOrder_(—)0 and PDO_PgmOrder_(—)1 for the assembly fragment of Table 6. Both the PDO_InsComp_(—)0 and PDO_InsComp_(—)1 signals operate in the manner described above. Each of these instruction completion signals identifies the instruction that completes in a particular cycle on that particular instruction pipeline. For convenience, the instruction completion signals of timing diagram 500 are labeled with an instruction number in addition to the code for the type of instruction (e.g., I, IL, IS, etc.).

At clock cycles 1–3, the PDO_InsComp_(—)0 signal indicates the completion of instructions 1–3, respectively. As described above, each of instructions 1–3 represent a store instruction (IS). At clock cycle 4, both the PDO_InsComp_(—)0 signal and the PDO_InsComp_(—)1 signal indicate the completion of an instruction. Specifically, PDO_InsComp_(—)0 signals the completion of instruction 4, while PDO_InsComp_(—)1 signals the completion of instruction 5.

Significantly, the usage of the PDO_InsComp_n signals identify the completion of instructions 4 and 5 at clock cycle 4 does not provide any indication of the static program order of instruction 4 relative to instruction 5. Instead, the PDO_PgmOrder_n signals are used to identify the static program schedule. At clock cycle 4, the PDO_PgmOrder_(—)0 signal identifies the first instruction in the issue group with a “0,” while the PDO_PgmOrder_(—)1 signal identifies the second instruction in the issue group with a “1.”

As further illustrated in timing diagram 500, the relative static program ordering between instructions in instruction pipeline 0 and instruction pipeline 1 is reversed at clock cycle 6. Here, the PDO_InsComp_(—)0 signal indicates the completion of instruction 9, while the PDO_InsComp_(—)1 signal indicates the completion of instruction 8. As instruction 9 follows instruction 8 in the static program schedule, the PDO_PgmOrder_(—)0 signal identifies the second instruction in the issue group with a “1,” while the PDO_PgmOrder_(—)1 signal identifies the first instruction in the issue group with a “0.”

As thus described, the PDO_PgmOrder_n signal enables the tracing of instructions from multiple instruction pipelines to be coordinated. Instructions that are issued together can therefore be traced out together. As noted, instructions from an issue group that complete earlier are held until all of the instructions in the issue group either complete or are squashed. At that point, the instructions in the issue group can be traced out using the PDO_PgmOrder_n signal.

Having described an example set of output signals used to transmit trace data from TGL 120 to TCB 130, various controls of the output tracing process are now described. In one embodiment, the controls of the output tracing process are effected through a set of “In” signals that are transmitted from TCB 130 to TGL 120. As noted above, these “In” signals are identified using the “PDI_”prefix.

In one embodiment, the set of input signals includes the example set of signals listed in Table 7. This set of “In” signals provides various controls over the tracing process.

TABLE 7 Input Signal Name Description PDI_TraceOn This signal specifies whether tracing is globally turned on or off PDI_TraceMode If PDI_TraceOn is asserted or a hardware break- point triggers trace on, this signal indicates what is to be traced by the core. In one embodiment, this signal can include the following values: 000: Trace PC 001: Trace PC and load address 010: Trace PC and store address 011: Trace PC and both load/store addresses 100: Trace PC and load address and data 101: Trace PC and store address and data 110: Trace PC and both load/store address and data 111: Trace PC and load data PDI_G If this bit is set, implies that all processes are to be traced. If this bit is not set, then trace data is sent only for a process that matches the PDI_ASID[7:0] lines. PDI_ASID[7:0] This signal indicates to the TGL which appli- cation space identity (ASID) should trigger trace information. PDI_U This bit enables tracing in User Mode. This enables tracing if PDI_TraceOn is also asserted or the hardware breakpoint trace triggers on, and either the PDI_G bit is set or the PDI_ASID matches the current process ASID. PDI_K This bit enables tracing in Kernel Mode. This enables tracing if the PDI_TraceOn is also asserted or the hardware breakpoint trace triggers on, and either the PDI_G bit is set or the PDI_ASID matches the current process ASID. PDI_S This bit enables tracing in Supervisor Mode. This enables tracing if PDI_TraceOn is also asserted or the hardware breakpoint trace triggers on, and either the PDI_G bit is set or the PDI_ASID matches the current process ASID. PDI_E This bit enables tracing when the EXL (exception level) bit in the Status register is one or when the ERL (error level) bit in the Status register is one. This enables tracing only if PDI_TraceOn is also asserted or the hardware breakpoint trace triggers on, and either the PDI_G bit is set or the PDI_ASID matches the current process ASID. PDI_DM This bit enables tracing in debug mode (i.e., when the DM bit is one in the Debug register). PDI_InhibitOverflow This signal indicate that the pipeline should be back-pressured (and stalled) instead of allowing the trace FIFO to overflow. PDI_StallSending This signal indicates to the core that it must stop transmitting trace information. This request may be important when the TCB is in danger of over- running its internal trace buffer. When this signal is asserted, the core may have to stall the pipeline. PDI_SyncOffEn This signal is an enable signal for the PDI_SyncPeriod and PDI_OffChipTB signals. PDI_SyncPeriod This signal is used to set the synchronization period. PDL_OffChipTB This signal indicates that the trace data is being sent off-chip to an external trace memory. When this signal is not asserted, it indicates an on-chip trace buffer.

The PDI_TraceMode[2:0] signal is used to control the type of information that is to be traced out. In effect, the PDI_TraceMode[2:0] signal can be used to limit the amount of data that is traced out to TCB 130. For example, trace data can be limited to the PC value using a PDI_TraceMode[2:0] signal value of ‘000.’ Alternatively, the data to be traced can be extended to include one or more of the load/store address and data. The specific set of data to be traced can be specified using PDI_TraceMode[2:0] signal values of ‘001’ to ‘111.’ In general, while the limitation on the types of trace data to be output reduces the visibility into the operation of microprocessor core 110, it also reduces the likelihood of an overflow in trace FIFO 440 as trace data is accumulated by TGL 120.

As noted above, a FIFO overflow can be prevented by back-pressuring and stalling the instruction pipeline. This action, however, serves to reduce the operational speed of the execution of the code by microprocessor core 110, thereby increasing the debugging time. As illustrated in Table 7, the input signal PDI_InhibitOverflow can be used to signal to TGL 120 that a FIFO overflow should be prevented.

Microprocessor core 110 may also be instructed to stall the instruction pipeline if TCB 130 is in danger of over-running its internal trace buffer. Here, the PDI_StallSending signal indicates to TGL 120 that it should stop transmitting trace information. When this signal is asserted, microprocessor core 110 may have to stall the instruction pipeline.

In addition to controlling the types of information that are being traced out, input signals can also be used to control when tracing is initiated. In one embodiment, tracing can be initiated based upon the operating mode of microprocessor core 110. Triggering tracing based upon the operating mode of microprocessor core 110 can be advantageous when a user is attempting to debug an operating system interacting with a user program. Conventionally, this debugging process can be accomplished by triggering tracing using breakpoints for each kernel entry. This methodology represents an intensive time-consuming task.

Alternatively, it is far easier to inhibit tracing when microprocessor core 110 is operating in user mode, while triggering tracing on when microprocessor core 110 enters kernel mode. The flexibility of initiating and/or inhibiting tracing based on the operating mode of the processor enables increased functionality in the design and implementation of a debugging objective.

In the present description, the term “processor mode” generally refers to an operational characteristic of the microprocessor. In one example, a set of processor modes can be defined relative to privilege levels to system resources. The specific processor modes defined for a microprocessor can be implementation dependent.

In one embodiment, the processor modes of microprocessor core 110 include a kernel mode, a supervisor mode, and a user mode. Kernel mode represents a highest system privilege. In kernel mode, registers can be accessed and changed. The innermost core of the operating system runs in kernel mode. Supervisor mode has fewer privileges then kernel mode and is used for less critical sections of the operating system. Finally, user mode has the lowest system privilege. User mode is designed to prevent users from interfering with one another. For each of the kernel, supervisor, and user modes, access privileges to the virtual address space can be defined. In one embodiment, the accessibility and mapping of segments in the virtual address spaces is defined as set forth in the MIPS32™ and MIPS64™ architecture specifications.

As illustrated in Table 7, mode-based tracing for kernel mode, supervisor mode, and user mode can be enabled using input signals PDI_K, PDI_S, and PDI_U, respectively. These input signals enable a debug operation to trigger or inhibit tracing based upon the entry or exit from one or more of the processor modes. For example, if the input signal PDI_K is asserted and PDO_U is not asserted, then tracing is triggered when microprocessor core 110 enters kernel mode from user mode. If input signal PDO_U is asserted, then tracing continues during the transition from user mode to kernel mode. In general, the flexibility in designing an effective debugging mechanism is enhanced through the selective triggering of mode-based tracing.

In addition to the mode-based controls, tracing can also be triggered based upon the identification of particular processes. In a multi-tasking system, each task or process has its own ASID value. The ASID value can be used in the debugging process to identify particular processes that need to be debugged.

As illustrated in Table 7, the input signal PDI_G is used to globally enable tracing for all running processes. If this bit is not set, then trace data is sent only for a process having an ASID value that matches the value of the PDI_ASID[7:0] signal. In other words, the PDI_ASID[7:0] signal identifies to TGL 120 which ASID should trigger the output of trace information. As noted, this functionality is useful to assist in the debugging of specific problematic processes.

As noted, there are several input signals such as PDI_TraceOn, PDI_G, PDI_ASID, PDI_U, PDI_K, PDI_S, PDI_E, and PDI_DM that enable tracing in various modes. In one embodiment, tracing is triggered on when the following expression is true. In the following expression, “&&” is used as a logical AND, “∥” is used as a logical OR, and “==” is used as an EQUALS TO condition evaluation.

-   (PDI_TraceOn) && -   (PDI_G∥(PDI_ASID==current_process_ASID)) && -   ((PDI_U && user_mode)∥(PDI_K && kernel_mode)∥(PDI_S &&     supervisor_mode)∥ -   (PDI_E && EXL_is_one_or_ERL_is_one)∥(PDI_DM && debug_mode))

One of the primary goals of the debugging process is to reconstruct the dynamic execution path of the program. Accurate trace reconstruction can often be achieved through the provision to trace reconstruction software 160 of the PC value at the head of each basic block. In some situations, however, trace reconstruction will be disrupted due to the absence of trace information. For example, trace information may be lost if FIFO 440 in TGL 120 overflows, thereby causing TGL 120 to empty FIFO 440 before reinitiating the tracing process.

To enable trace regeneration software 160 to re-synchronize itself with the program execution, synchronization information is output at predictable intervals, approximately every synchronization period. This synchronization period is set through the use of the PDI_SyncPeriod[2:0] signal. In one embodiment, the PDI_SyncPeriod[2:0] signal takes on the values of Table 8.

TABLE 8 On-Chip Trace Off-Chip Trace PDI_SyncPeriod Memory Memory 000 2² 2⁷  001 2³ 2⁸  010 2⁴ 2⁹  011 2⁵ 2¹⁰ 100 2⁶ 2¹¹ 101 2⁷ 2¹² 110 2⁸ 2¹³ 111 2⁹ 2¹⁴

As illustrated in Table 8, the synchronization period can be dependent upon the implementation of trace memory 150 (see FIG. 1). As noted, trace memory 150 can be located either on-chip or off-chip. On-chip trace memory is typically smaller than off-chip trace memory. In one example, on-chip trace memory ranges from 64 bytes to 4 kbytes, while off-chip trace memory can be sized in excess of 64 kbytes.

Regardless of the size of trace memory 150, it is desirable to have multiple instances of the synchronization information to be stored in trace memory 150. This ensures that in the process of writing trace data to trace memory 150, all instances of the synchronization information will not be eliminated when portions of trace memory 150 are overwritten. Thus, in one embodiment, the synchronization period is selected such that, for a particular size of trace memory 150, N (e.g., 4) instances of synchronization information are expected to exist in trace memory 150.

It is a feature of the present invention that the synchronization period can be adjusted to accommodate various implementations of the microprocessor. This adjustment feature is particularly important to embedded microprocessor implementations where tradeoffs in die size can dictate a wide range of trace memory 150 implementations.

In one embodiment, the value of the PDI_SyncPeriod[2:0] signal is stored in a trace control register. An embodiment of the trace control register is illustrated in FIG. 6. As illustrated, trace control register 600 includes OfC field 610, SyP field 620, and Reserved field 630. OfC field 610 includes a single bit that indicates whether trace memory 150 is located on or off chip. SyP field 620 includes the three bits (see Table 8) that are contained in the PDI_SyncPeriod[2:0] signal that is transmitted from TCB 130 to TGL 120.

The bits in OfC field 610 of trace control register 600 are used to set an internal counter. Tracing of the synchronization information is triggered when the internal counter overflows.

One of the primary elements of the synchronization information is the full PC value. The full PC value is required periodically because compression module 410 in FIG. 4 may compress the PC values to conserve trace bandwidth. General compression of trace data is described in greater detail below.

In one embodiment, the PC values that are output by TGL 120 are compressed by transmitting the difference between the present PC value and the most recently transmitted PC value. This form of delta-compression transmission can be reconstructed only if the previous PC value has been received. In situations where trace data is lost, full PC values cannot be generated using the compressed PC values. Trace regeneration software 160 therefore loses its ability to reconstruct the program trace.

If multiple instances of the full PC value are assured to be stored in trace memory 150, then trace regeneration software 160 can reacquire a starting point for the reconstruction of the program trace. Even if the full PC value is obtainable from trace memory 150, however, trace regeneration software 160 may still be unable to acquire an accurate view of the hardware and software state of software executing on microprocessor core 110.

For example, if a loop of instructions is being executed, the identification of a full PC value does not provide an accurate picture of the dynamic location of the PC. In other words, knowledge of the PC value does not enable trace regeneration software 160 to determine the iteration of the loop in which the instructions were executing.

It is a feature of the present invention that the periodically generated synchronization information includes information beyond a PC value. In one embodiment, the periodically generated synchronization information includes one or more of the load/store addresses, ASID value, and processor mode information.

As illustrated in Table 7, the PDI_TraceMode signal can be used to inform TGL 120 of what types of data should be traced. If a value of ‘000’ is sent, TGL 120 will output only PC trace data. In this scenario, the periodic synchronization information includes the PC and the processor mode/ASID value to enable trace regeneration software 160 to resynchronize itself with the program execution.

If the PDI_TraceMode signal informs TGL 120 to trace the load/store addresses, then the full load/store address information is traced when the next load/store instruction is traced. The inclusion of the load/store addresses in the periodic output has many uses that include, but are not limited to: (1) pin-pointing an iteration within a loop, (2) acquiring a full address instead of a delta (compressed) load/store address, and (3) general synchronization with program execution.

More generally, it is a feature of the present invention that the periodic transmission of synchronization information enables trace regeneration software 160 to reacquire an accurate view of the software state of the computer system being traced. In that regard, the processor mode and ASID value are important pieces of information that enable trace regeneration software 160 to corroborate its assumption of the current processor state.

In one embodiment, the processor mode and ASID value are traced out using the trace record illustrated in FIG. 7. Trace record 700 includes ASID field 710, processor operating mode (POM) field 720, and instruction set architecture mode (ISAM) field 730.

ASID field 710 includes an indication of the eight-bit ASID value for the process currently being traced. POM field 720 includes an indication of the processor mode. In one embodiment, POM field 720 includes two bits that enables an indication of one of a kernel mode, supervisor mode, user mode, and debug mode. ISAM field 730 includes an indication of the particular instruction set architecture being used. In one embodiment, ISAM field 720 includes two bits that enables an indication of one of the MIPS16™, MIPS32™, and MIPS64™ architectures.

Like the PC value and the load/store address, trace record 700 is transmitted from TGL 120 to TCB 130 over trace bus PDO_AD. The trace data type indicated using the PDO_TType[2:0] signal is TMOAS, as illustrated in Table 5 (value ‘101’).

In general, it should be noted that trace record 700 should be traced whenever there is a change in the ASID value. The same transaction is also used to trace changes in the POM and ISAM.

As thus described, the input signals of Table 7 provide a mechanism for effecting hardware control over the tracing process. It is a feature of the present invention that tracing can be controlled not only via the input signals of Table 7, but also from commands from within a program itself. These commands effect control over the tracing process through the use of a software-settable trace control register.

In operation, the user can compile a program with the trace controls included in the compiled code. The compiled code then initiates tracing on its own, without requiring the user's physical presence to initiate tracing using debugger breakpoints or other interactive trace commands.

To illustrate the advantage of this debugging feature, consider a scenario where a particular section of code of a program is being debugged. In accordance with the present invention, tracing can be initiated from within the program whenever that particular section of code is entered. Tracing can also be stopped whenever execution leaves that section of code. This software-trace-control feature is especially useful in debugging long-running operations, such as booting an operating system where the section of code of interest occurred hours into the booting process.

An embodiment of the software-settable trace control register is now described with reference to trace control register 800 of FIG. 8. Trace control register 800 includes On field 801, Mode (M) field 802, Global (G) field 803, ASID field 804, ASID_M field 805, User Mode (U) field 806, Kernel Mode (K) field 807, Supervisor Mode (S) field 808, Exception (E) field 809, Debug Mode (D) field 810, Inhibit Overflow (IO) field 811, Reserved (RES) field 812, User Trigger (UT) field 813, and Trace Select (TS) field 814.

In general, the software-settable fields 801–814 contained within trace control register 800 enable similar trace control functionality as the input signals illustrated in Table 7. In particular, trace control fields 801–804 and 806–811 have direct counterparts to the equivalent signals of Table 7. Accordingly, trace control fields 801–804 and 806–811 are not described in greater detail here. The remaining trace control fields, ASID_M field 805, UT field 813, and TS field 814, are described below. Trace control field 812 is designated as being reserved (RES).

TS field 814 is generally operative to enable the selection between either hardware or software based trace control. A TS value of one indicates a selection of external hardware trace control using signals generated by TCB 130, while a TS value of zero indicates a selection of internal software trace control based upon the contents of trace control register 800.

ASID_M field 805 is operative to indicate a mask value that is applied to the ASID comparison. As noted, the ASID comparison is performed when the PDI_G signal or the bit in G field 803 is not set, thereby indicating that all processes are not being traced. The ability to mask the ASID value provides additional flexibility in enabling the tracing of multiple processes. For example, multiple processes can be identified and traced based upon an identifiable set of higher-order bits in ASID_M field 805. In one embodiment, masked bits are identified with a “0” value, while unmasked bits are identified with a “1” value.

UT field 813 is used to indicate a type of user-trace-data (UTD) record. This UTD record is based upon the contents of a UTD register that is written to by software. The UTD record is created upon a write to the UTD register.

As noted in Table 5 above, the UTD record is traced out on trace bus PDO_AD with PDO_TType[2:0] having a value of ‘110’ (type 1) or ‘111’ (type 2). The type 1 and type 2 UTD records are reflected in the state of the bit in UT field 813. In one embodiment, UT field can be designed to accommodate additional bits for indications of additional types of UTD records.

It is a feature of the present invention that the UTD record enables a user to trace out any data value that can be written into the UTD register. As such, the UTD record can include any general processor register value, any program variable value, or any other debug-related information that is observable during program execution. This functionality enables a program to effectively trace itself without interactive user commands. Flexibility in tracing intermediate values, a small subset of data values, or specific points or aspects of program execution is thereby improved.

As described, the principles of the present invention enable increased control and flexibility in the tracing process. These elements of control provide users with effective tools in carrying out debugging procedures. Greater visibility into the execution of the processing system is also achieved through the increased accessibility in identifying parameters of the hardware/software state during execution.

In accordance with the present invention, performance of the tracing system can also be improved through the efficient use of tracing bandwidth. Conservation of bandwidth is effected through the compression modules described briefly above with reference to FIG. 4. As noted, compression modules 410 and 430 are operative to compress trace data that is to be transmitted to TCB 130.

Compression modules 410 and 430 are operative to compress a variety of data types. Trace information to be transmitted can include PC, load/store addresses, load/store data, processor mode information, and user-defined data values. These different types of trace data are identified during transmission on trace bus PDO_AD using the PDO_TType[2:0] signal defined in Table 5.

As noted, in one embodiment, the compression option that is applied to the trace data can be chosen from a set of compression options that are defined for the particular type of trace data that is being traced. In other words, the PDO_TMode signal that defines the type of compression (or mode of transmission) being used is dependent upon the value of the PDO_TType signal. In one embodiment, the PDO_TMode signal takes on the values of Table 9 relative to the PDO_TType signal values.

TABLE 9 PDO_TType PDO_TMode 000 Reserved 101 001 0: delta from last PC value 1: compression option A (full address) 010 0: delta from last data address of that type 011 1: compression option B (full address) 100 0: compression option C (full data) 110 1: compression option D (full data) 111

In the illustrated embodiment of Table 5, a PDO_TType value of ‘001’ is used when transmitting the PC value. For this type of trace data, two compression modes are defined. In the first compression mode identified by a PDO_TMode value of ‘0,’ the delta value relative to the PC value of the previous instruction is used. This form of compression is efficient and desirable when the PC value is sequentially related to the previous PC value. If the PC value is independent of the previous PC value, then an alternate compression option A can be identified by a PDO_TMode value of ‘1.’ Compression option A can represent any compression option that is expected to produce significant compression results when applied to a full PC address value.

As further illustrated in Table 9, delta compression can also be used for PDO_TTypes with a value of ‘010’ (load address) and ‘011’ (store address). These trace data types can also appear in a sequential pattern or exhibit a fair degree of locality and can therefore take advantage of delta compression. Alternately, the PDO_TMode signal can identify an alternate compression option B to be used for load/store address compression.

Finally, PDO_TTypes ‘100’ (data value), ‘110’ (user-defined trace record—type 1) and ‘111’ (user-defined trace record—type 2) define full data values. Compression of these full data values is accomplished through the PDO_TMode signaling of either compression option C or compression option D. In general, the choice of compression options C and D can be based upon some expectation of the type of data that is to be compressed.

In the embodiment described above, the selection of compression options A–D can be based upon some expectation of the characteristics of the data that is to be compressed. For example, delta compression was selected as one of the possible compression options for data that was reasonably believed to have some sequential relation to prior transmissions.

In an alternative embodiment, a set of compression options can be applied to the trace data regardless of the characteristics of the expected trace data. In this embodiment, a set of compression options can be selected to cover a wide range of potential compression scenarios. Each of the selected compression options can then be applied to a particular piece of trace data without prior knowledge of the expected compression quality of the result. For that particular piece of trace data, the best compression result from the set of compression options can be selected. The selected compression option can then be signaled to TCB 130 using the PDO_TMode signal. In general, this compression mechanism effects a dynamic selection of the compression option for the trace data.

An embodiment of the logic that embodies a dynamic compression selection option is illustrated in FIG. 9. It should be noted that compression selection logic 900 can be incorporated into one or more of compression modules 410, 430 of TGL 120.

Compression selection logic 900 includes compression modules 910 ₁–910 _(N). Each of compression modules 910 ₁–910 _(N) operates on the same piece of trace data that is to be transmitted. In general, compression modules 910 ₁–910 _(N) can represent any set of compression methods that can be used to compress a set of bits. In one embodiment, compression modules 910 ₁–910 _(N) can be based on such compression-based methods as delta compression, bit-block compression, run length encoding, variable bit-block compression, or the like. Bit-block compression, run length encoding, and variable bit-block compression are described in greater detail in Faloutous et al., “Description and Performance Analysis of Signature File Methods for Office Filing,” ACM transactions on Office Information Systems, Vol. 5, No. 3, July 1987, pages 237–257, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Other bit compression methods can also be used by the present invention.

As noted, each of compression modules 910 ₁–910 _(N) is operative to generate a compression result for the input trace data. The trace data may represent a PC value, a load/store address value, a load/store data value, processor mode information, or a user-defined data value. Regardless of the trace data type, each of compression modules 910 ₁–910 _(N) will produce a result that is forwarded to compression selector module 920.

Compression selection module 920 is operative to compare the outputs of compression modules 910 ₁–910 _(N) to determine which compression option most efficiently compresses the input trace data. In this process, the dynamic selection of the compression outputs ensures that an efficient compression mechanism has been selected for each piece of trace data.

The compression method selected is then signaled to TCB 130. As noted, this signaling can be based on a PDO_TMode signal. A single PDO_TMode signal can be used to indicate the selection of one of the compression methods embodied in compression modules 910 ₁–910 _(N). It should be noted that in one embodiment, one of the compression methods is selected as the default form of compression.

In addition to the efficiency that is gained through the compression of trace information, further efficiency is also gained through the minimization of storage in trace memory 150. As described, trace information is communicated to TCB 130 over trace interface 180 using the output signals of Table 1. The output signals (e.g., PDO_InsComp, PDO_AD, PDO_TType, etc.) provide various elements of trace information, some of which may not represent useful information in a give clock cycle. For this reason, directly outputting all of the information that is received from processor core 110 in each cycle would result in the storage of unnecessary information.

In accordance with the present invention, storage efficiency in trace memory 150 is improved through the elimination of unnecessary information. This unnecessary information can be identified through the examination of the trace information content that is received by TCB 130.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of TCB 130 that examines trace information content that is received over trace interface 180. In the illustrated embodiment, TCB 130 also includes a TAP interface 1010, which enables access to TAP registers 1060. TAP interface 1010 is described in greater detail below.

Upon receipt of trace information via trace interface 180, TCB 130 is operative to identify unnecessary trace information. The useful information that is generated in a given cycle is then bundled by trace message formatter 1040 into a trace message having one of a plurality of predefined trace message formats. As will be described in greater detail below, the predefined trace message formats have different lengths to accommodate varying amounts of useful information.

Prior to storing the generated trace messages in trace memory 150, the generated trace messages are first placed into a fixed-length trace word format by trace word formatter 1050. As will be described in greater detail below, this fixed-length trace word format is designed to hold all or part of one or more generated trace messages.

After the fixed-length trace words are generated by trace word formatter 1050, the trace words are then stored in trace memory 150. As noted, trace memory 150 can be embodied on-chip or off-chip. Both trace memory options are illustrated in FIG. 10. In the off-chip trace memory option, the trace word is transmitted to off-chip trace memory 150 via probe interface block (PIB) 1030. In general, PIB 1030 is designed to be the on-chip link between TCB 130 and trace memory 150.

As noted, the trace messages that are generated by trace message formatter 1040 are placed in a trace format that minimizes the amount of data to be stored in trace memory 150. In one embodiment, a set of six trace message formats 1100–1600 is defined as illustrated in FIGS. 11–16. Trace message formats 1100–1600 are defined in the context of a single instruction pipeline. The application of trace message formats 1100–1600 in the tracing process is now described.

In general, the transmission of trace information on trace interface 180 is enabled with the PDO_IamTracing signal (see Table 2). When PDO_IamTracing is de-asserted, no valid trace information is sent by processor core 110 via TGL 120 and hence no trace information is written to trace memory 150. When PDO_IamTracing is asserted, TGL 120 is sending valid trace data to TCB 130. The valid trace data is then prepared for storage in trace memory 150.

It should be noted that the amount of trace data that is sent to TCB 130 can be affected by the tracing mode that has been selected. As illustrated in Table 7, the PDI_TraceMode signal is used to signal to processor core 110 what types of information should be traced. For example, processor core 110 can be instructed to trace only the PC, the PC and load addresses, the PC and store addresses, etc.

In the tracing process, it has been observed that a large percentage of time, nothing of significance needs to be traced. This is especially true when processor core 110 has been instructed to trace only the PC through the selection of PDI_TraceMode=‘000’. Processor core 110 via TGL 120, however, continues to output data to TCB 130 using the output signals of Table 1. For example, the PDO_InsComp signal would have a value of ‘000’ indicating that no instruction completed during that cycle.

In the situation where nothing of significance needs to be traced, the output to trace memory 150 should be minimized. The compact trace format 1100 is designed for this circumstance. In particular, compact trace format 1100 is used in the situation when PDO_InsComp is 000, PDO_TType is 000 (i.e., no transmission on this cycle), and PDO_Overflow is not being asserted.

When these conditions are met, trace message formatter 1040 of TCB 130 outputs a single bit value of “1.” As will become apparent from the description of trace message formats 1200–1600, if the first bit of the trace message format is a one, then the next bit is the first bit of the next trace message format.

When needed, trace message formatter 1040 encodes a trace message format with more trace information. Very often, the PDO_AD bits are “don't-cares” and do not need to be saved. This is the case when PDO_TType is equal to 000. If PDO_TType is 000 and PDO_Overflow is not asserted, then the only important information to trace is that contained in PDO_InsComp. Having reserved bit 0 set to “1” for trace message format 1100, the combination of PDO_TType=000 and PDO_Overflow=0 can be indicated using two bits (10 ₂). The bits 10 ₂ make up a “header” 1202 that enables trace message format 1200 to be distinguished from trace message format 1100 as it is being parsed.

In general, trace message format 1200 is used to signal the completion of instructions, as indicated by the data in the PDO_InsComp signal. This instruction-completion trace message format is beneficial in that it includes the only significant information produced during that cycle. With PDO_TType equal to 000, no valid information is transmitted on trace bus PDO_AD. The inclusion therefore of the PDO_InsComp signal value in the instruction-completion trace message format 1200 enables debugging software to track the completion of instructions in processor core 110.

The next field 1204 in trace message format 1200 includes the contents of PDO_InsComp. Three bits are reserved for the PDO_InsComp value. Trace message format 1200 therefore contains a total of five bits as illustrated in FIG. 12.

When PDO_TType is non-zero (not equal to 000) and not equal to 100, and when PDO_Overflow is not asserted, all information except the PDO_LoadOrder value is captured in trace message format 1300, illustrated in FIG. 13. As trace message formatter 1040 records all of the significant information that is output from TGL 120 into trace message format 1300, trace message format 1300 can be referred to as a standard trace message format.

In general, standard trace message format 1300 is used during those cycles where TGL 120 outputs significant information onto trace bus PDO_AD. As illustrated in the example timing diagram 200 of FIG. 2, trace bus PDO_AD can be used during a high-percentage of clock cycles. Accordingly, standard trace message format 1300 would be used in those cycles where trace interface 180 is fully utilized in the transmission of trace information to TCB 130. Significantly, when trace interface 180 is not fully utilized, compact trace message format 1100 and instruction-completion trace message format 1200 can be used.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, standard trace message format 1300 includes a header field 1302, InsComp field 1304, TType field 1306, TEnd field 1308, TMode field 1310, and AD field 1312. Fields 1304, 1306, 1308, 1310, and 1312 include the information carried on the respective signals that are output from TGL 120 to TCB 130.

In total, trace message format 1300 contains 27 (or 43) bits of trace information. The particular size of trace message format 1300 is dependent upon the size of the trace bus PDO_AD. As noted, the trace bus PDO_AD can be embodied as a 16-bit or 32-bit bus, thereby resulting in a 27-bit or 43-bit trace message.

Trace message format 1300 is distinguished from trace message format 1200 by having 000₂ on the first three bits in header field 1302.

As noted, trace message format 1300 includes everything except LoadOrder information associated with load data. Load-order trace message format 1400, illustrated in FIG. 14, is designed to cover this particular case. Here, when PDO_TType is set to 100 (i.e., TD—transmitting data value) and PDO_TEnd is set to 1, the PDO_LoadOrder value is added to trace message format 1300.

Load-order trace message format 1400 enables further reduction in the amount of information that is stored in trace memory 150. In particular, load-order trace message format 1400 is used only when the PDO_LoadOrder signal is relevant, i.e., when PDO_TType is set to 100 and PDO_TEnd is set to 1.

As illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, TType field 1306 and TEnd field 1308 are replaced in field 1406 of load-order trace message format 1400 with the specific TType value 100 and TEnd value 1. These bits at positions 6–9 serve to distinguish between trace message formats 1300 and 1400. Accordingly, during the parsing of load-order trace message format 1400, bit positions 6–9 would indicate that LoadOrder field 1410 will follow TMode field 1408.

As part of the cycle by cycle values on trace interface 180, it is generally not possible to distinguish Load Data from Store Data. For this reason, the LoadOrder value is added to the last cycle (indicated by the TEnd signal being asserted) of transmission of both the load data and the store data.

When PDO_Overflow is asserted, the rest of the information on the PDO_xx pins is undefined. This condition is illustrated at clock cycle 18 of timing diagram 200 of FIG. 2. When an overflow condition occurs, the information on the PDO_xx pins can be disregarded and should not be stored in trace memory 150. Thus, to prevent unnecessary waste of trace memory 150 and off-chip trace bandwidth, an overflow trace message format 1500 of FIG. 15 is used. The overflow trace message format 1500 is dedicated to signal overflow and includes a 4-bit field that is distinguishable from the headers of the other trace message formats.

In combination, trace message formats 1100–1500 are used to generate trace messages that are designed to minimize the storage of unneeded trace information that is generated by processor core 110. It should be noted that the extent of the storage minimization efforts can be dependent upon the needs of the debugging and analysis applications that rely on the stored trace information.

In that regard, TCB 130 can be customized for particular application needs. More specifically, trace message formatter 1040 can be designed to implement a particular set of trace message formats that are optimized for a given application. In a given cycle, trace message formatter 1040 would then select from the set of defined trace message formats in accordance with the characteristics of the trace information that is received by TCB 130.

It should also be noted that TCB 130 may also need to transmit information that does not directly originate from the cycle by cycle data received via trace interface 180. For this reason, an additional trace message format 1600 can be defined. As illustrated in FIG. 16, trace message format 1600 includes a header field 1602, a TCBcode field 1604 and a TCBinfo field 1606. In one embodiment, the TCBcode and TCBinfo fields are defined as illustrated in Table 10.

TABLE 10 TCBcode Description TCBinfo 0000 Trigger Start: Identifies start-point of trace. Cause of TCBinfo identifies what caused the trigger. trigger. Taken from the Trigger control register, generating this trigger. 0100 Trigger End: Identifies end-point of trace. TCBinfo identifies what caused the trigger. 1000 Trigger About: Identifies center-point of trace. TCBinfo identifies what caused the trigger. 1100 Trigger Info: Information-point in trace. TCBinfo identifies what caused the trigger. 0001 No trace cycles: Number of cycles where Number of PDO_IamTracing was low, while cycles (All PDI_StallSending was not asserted. An zeros is equal example of this is when only tracing User- to 256). If mode execution. When jumping to Kernel- more than 256 mode, the internal FIFO of the core will is needed, the empty the information it might have, then the TF6 format is PDO_IamTracing is de-asserted, to repeated. indicate that we are no longer tracing stall- cycles of User-mode execution. 0101 Back stall cycles: Number of cycles where PDI_StallSending was asserted, preventing the PDtrace IF to transmit any trace info. 1x01 Reserved for future use Undefined xx10 xx11 TCB Implementation dependent Implementation Dependent

As described above, trace interface 180 can be used to acquire trace information for a processor core 110 that includes more than one instruction pipeline. Support for tracing multiple instruction pipelines is enabled through the PDO_PgmOrder signal, which is used to indicate the static schedule of an instruction in a pipeline with respect to instructions in other instruction pipelines.

A processor core 110 with multiple instruction pipelines includes additional support for sending trace information to trace memory 150. If there are multiple instruction pipelines within processor core 110, then for each cycle, TCB 130 outputs a trace message from each pipeline, in a fixed respective order.

In this multiple-pipeline environment, additions to trace message formats 1200, 1300, and 1400 are provided. In particular, multiple-pipeline trace message formats 1200, 1300, and 1400 also include the PDO_PgmOrder signal value. An extra PgmOrder field 1706, 1806, and 1906 is therefore added to trace message formats 1200, 1300, and 1400 to produce trace message formats 1700, 1800, and 1900, respectively.

Compact trace message format 1100 does not require modification and can still be used in the multiple-pipeline environment. Trace message format 1100 indicates that none of the instruction pipelines within processor core 110 completed an instruction, and none of the instruction pipelines had data to send to TCB 130.

Overflow trace message format 1500 can also be used in the multiple-pipeline environment. In one embodiment, all the instruction pipelines are designed to flush trace FIFO 440, when any trace FIFO 440 overflows. A single trace message can therefore be used to indicate the general overflow condition.

Trace message format 1600 can also be used in the multiple-pipeline environment. This results because, in one embodiment, PDO_IamTracing is common for all pipelines in a multiple-pipeline processor core.

After a set of trace message formats 1100–1900 is defined, trace messages that are generated by trace message formatter 1040 can be stored in trace memory 150. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 10, TCB 130 also includes a trace word formatter 1050. Trace word formatter 1050 is generally responsible for placing trace messages that are generated by trace message formatter 1040 into a format for storage into trace memory. In one embodiment, trace message formatter 1040 generates fixed-length trace words that can be used to store all or part of one or more trace messages.

An embodiment of a fixed-length trace word is illustrated in FIG. 20. Trace word 2000 includes type field 2002 and trace field 2004. Trace field 2004 is a 60-bit field that is designed to accommodate trace messages generated by trace message formatter 1040. As the trace message formats defined in the examples of FIGS. 11–19 have varying lengths, trace field 2004 can include a varying number of trace messages. As will be described in greater detail below, trace field 2004 can also include fractional portions of trace messages.

Trace field 2002 is a 4-bit field that identifies the type of storage framework within trace field 2004. In one embodiment, trace field 2002 can be used in accordance with the values described in Table 11.

TABLE 11 Type Value (Decimal Bit Position Value) of First TM Description 0 N/A This trace word (TW) does not carry any trace information. The Trace field is set to all zeroes. 1 0 If the previous TW ended in an uncompleted trace message (TM), those bits are dropped. (and most likely repeated as the first bits in this TW). If the last TM of the previous TW had a TM format 1300 with: TType set to TPC, TLA or TSA, TEnd set to 1 and TMode set to 0, and just one AD bit showing, then it is considered a completed TM, and no bits are discarded from the previous TW. 2–14 (TYPE − The partial TM from the previous TW is 1) * 4 completed in the bits available before the first new TM. If extra bits are available after completing the TM, the rest of the bits until the first new TM start position, are equal to the last bit of the TM being completed from the previous TW. When a TM sends compressed trace information (e.g., relative address), sign extended AD bits can be cut to only show the needed sign bits. This enables com- pression of sign-extended PDO_AD bits. 15  No new TM The TM started in the previous TW could not be completed within 54 bits. It might complete in this TW. But if it does not complete, then the next TW will have a Type value higher than one.

To illustrate the use of type field 2002 and trace field 2004, consider the example trace sequence of Table 12. In Table 12, trace message formats 1100–1600 are referred to as TF1–TF6.

TABLE 12 Cycle # Trace Format 1 TF3 (16 significant AD bits) 2 TF3 (16 significant AD bits) 3 TF2 4 TF1 5 TF1 6 TF1 7 TF1 8 TF2 9 TF2 10 TF1 11 TF2 12 TF2 13 TF2 14 TF1 15 TF3 (5 significant AD bits) 16 TF1 17 TF2 18 TF2 19 TF2 20 TF2 21 TF3 (11 significant AD bits) 22 TF1 23 TF3 (6 significant AD bits) 24 TF6 (stop indicator)

The sequence of trace messages in Table 12 are generated by trace message formatter 1040 and sequentially provided to trace word formatter 1050. Trace word formatter 1050 then creates the trace words 1–4 as illustrated in FIG. 21. In particular, trace word formatter 1050 fills the 60-bit trace field from right to left. This filling process is now described with reference to the sequence of trace messages of Table 12.

The first trace message that is generated in cycle 1 is a TF3 message having the format illustrated in FIG. 13. The TF3 message includes 16 bits in AD field 1312. The total length of the TF3 message is therefore 27 bits and is stored at bit positions 0–26 of the trace field in TW 1. Here, it should be noted that the type field of TW 1 has a value of 1, indicating that the first trace message (i.e., TF3 message at bits 0–26) in TW 1 begins at bit position 0.

The next trace message that is received in cycle 2 by trace word formatter 1050 is another TF3 message having 16 significant AD bits. This 27-bit trace message is stored at bit positions 27–53 of the trace field in TW 1. At cycle 3, a TF2 message is received. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the TF2 message has five bits. These five bits are stored at bit positions 54–58 of the trace field in TW 1. At cycle 4, a TF1 message is received. This single-bit message is stored at bit position 59 of the trace field in TW 1.

The filling of the entire 60 bits of TW 1 completes the trace word. TW 1 is an example of a trace word that has a trace field length that exactly matches the length of a set of trace message formats (i.e., TF3, TF3, TF2, TF1) that are stored therein. In general, the length of a particular combination of trace message formats need not match the length of trace field 2004. This situation is a natural consequence of storing trace messages of different lengths into a fixed-length trace field.

To accommodate this fairly common occurrence, the last trace message of a particular trace word can be continued in the following trace word. An example of this scenario is illustrated by the contents of TW 2 as described below.

At clock cycles 5–14, the following sequence of trace messages is received: TF1, TF1, TF2, TF2, TF1, TF2, TF2, TF2, and TF1. These 10 trace messages are stored in bit positions 0–29 of TW 2. As the first new trace message (i.e., TF1) is started at bit position 0, the type field for TW 2 has a value of 1.

At clock cycle 15, a TF3 message having five significant AD bits is received. These five significant AD bits are sign extended in the 11 remaining bit positions of AD field 1312. The sign extended TF3 message is stored at bit positions 30–56 of TW 2.

After the single-bit TF 1 message of cycle 16 is stored at bit position 57 of TW 2, the TF2 message of cycle 17 is processed by trace word formatter 1050. At this point in the processing of TW 2, 58 of the 60 bits of TW 2 have been used. The processing of the TF2 message at cycle 17 requires five bits of storage. The first two bits of the TF2 message are therefore stored at bit positions 58–59 of TW 2. The remaining three bits of the TF2 message are stored in the trace field of TW 3.

As illustrated, bit positions 0–2 of TW 3 store the remaining three bits of the TF2 message of cycle 17. Bit position 3 of TW 3 is labeled ‘u’ for unused. Bit position 3 is unused because the first new trace message of TW 3 begins at bit position 4. In the illustrated embodiment of Table 11, new trace messages can begin at every 4^(th) bit position starting at bit position 4. In this embodiment, the type field values of 2–14 would indicate the particular bit starting position through the formula (TYPE-1)*4. For TW 3, the type value of 2 would signal that the first trace message would begin at bit position (2−1)*4=4.

In an alternative embodiment, trace messages could be started at any bit position of trace field 2004. In this embodiment, the type field would add additional bits to accommodate the full range of start-point addressing within trace field 2004.

After the TF2 message of cycle 17 is processed, the three TF2 messages of cycles 18–20 are added to TW 3 at bit positions 4–18. Next, at cycle 21, the TF3 message having 11 significant AD bits is added to TW 3 at bit positions 19–45. As illustrated, the last five bit positions are sign-extended bits. At clock cycle 22, the single bit TF1 message is added to TW 3 at bit position 46.

At this point, at cycle 23, the TF3 message having 6 significant AD bits is processed. The full length of the TF3 message, including 11 sign extended AD bits, is 27 bits (see FIG. 13). In the example of FIG. 21, this TF3 message is stored in TWs 3 and 4. In particular, the first 13 bits of the TF3 message is stored at bit positions 47–59 of TW 3 with the remainder being stored at the beginning of TW 4.

Here, it should be noted, that the full remainder of the TF3 message of cycle 23 need not be stored at the beginning of TW 4. Since the final 10 AD bits are sign extended bits, these unnecessary bits need not be stored in TW 4. Using the pointing functionality of type field 2002, the beginning of the first new trace message (i.e., the TF6 message at cycle 24) can begin at the next available start position after the six significant AD bits of the TF3 message at cycle 23 ends. In this particular case, none of the sign-extended bits are used as the last significant AD bit at bit position 3, just prior to the next available start position at bit position 4.

This start bit position is identified through a type field value of 2. Significantly, this process of eliminating unnecessary AD bits enables further reduction in the amount of storage capacity that is required to store the generated trace information.

It should be noted that further reduction in the storage required can also be gained through the elimination of TF1 messages. TF1 message may only be relevant if it is desired to show the actual cycle-by-cycle behavior. If the trace regeneration software only shows the instruction sequence, the TF1 message need not be incorporated into the trace words. Additionally, since the first bit on the other trace messages (TF2–TF6) are unneeded to distinguish themselves from each other, the first bit can also be removed before storing those trace messages to trace memory 150. FIG. 22 illustrates the creation of the TWs in this particular scenario.

In the illustration of FIG. 22, the TF3 message that straddles TW 2 and TW 3 has also had insignificant sign bits cut from the full TF3 message of cycle 21. Here, four sign bits have been removed to therefore enable the following TF3 message at cycle 23 (the TF1 message at cycle 22 is disregarded) to start at bit position 20 instead of bit position 24. The start bit position of 20 is identified through the type field value of 6.

In general, trace words are written to trace memory 150 when a full TW is available. A new TW might not be created each cycle, in which case, nothing is written to trace memory 150.

It should also be noted that TWs having a type field value of ‘0’ can also be used to realize additional efficiency. For example, since a type field value of ‘0’ indicates that the TW does not carry any trace information, the TW need not be store in trace memory 150. Additionally, if the TW is stored in off-chip trace memory 150, the trace field can be truncated to enable the TW to fit the bit-width of the off-chip interface.

As thus described, TCB 130 can be designed to efficiently store trace information in trace memory 150. The particular storage format chosen can be based on the needs of the particular debugging efforts that are anticipated.

In general, the specification of trace interface 180 enables an embedded processor developer to design a customized TCB 130. The customized TCB 130 can then be combined with any processor core 110 that supports the specified trace interface 180. In this manner, solutions to a particular computing environment can be chosen through the combination of a particular processor core and a particular TCB. Mixing and matching processor cores and TCBs are enabled through the specification of trace interface 180.

It should be noted that a TCB can be integrated with a processor core without the the specification of trace interface 180. In this scenario, TCB functionality can be tightly integrated into the processor core. This integration, however, comes at a significant design cost. In particular, customization of the TCB functionality would likely require customization of elements of the processor core. This customization would impede the rapid development and deployment of a customized debugging solution.

In anticipation of potential customization needs, it is also possible to integrate programmable TCB functionality into the processor core. This programmable TCB functionality enables users to customize the operation of the TCB functionality in a post-production environment. While flexibility is improved, die size costs are sacrificed. In particular, significant additional logic would be required to support the generic programmable functionality, a significant portion of which may be unused in a given application.

In comparison, the provision of trace interface 180 enables a TCB design to be optimized for the particular debugging need that is envisioned. TCB logic only needs to include those elements that are known to be needed for the particular application. Logic that supported additional unused functions would be unnecessary. In this framework, a new targeted application can be implemented through a redesigned and optimized TCB 130. This redesigned and optimized TCB 130 can then be coupled with any processor core 110 that supported trace interface 180.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, TCB 130 also includes a TAP interface 1010 that enables TAP controller 140 to communicate with TCB 130. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 10, TCB 130 includes TAP registers 1060. TAP registers 1060 are accessed through tap interface 1010 using TAP protocol techniques.

In accordance with the present invention, TCB 130 need not include a separate TAP controller. Rather, the TAP controller 140 that is implemented in the processor core is leveraged to provide distributed control over TAP registers 1060. As a result, die savings are realized through the elimination of a duplicate TAP controller state machine in TCB 130.

It should be noted that while the distributed nature of the TAP controller is described below in the context of a single chip, the concept can be applied to a variety of implementation contexts.

FIG. 23 illustrates a generic context in which the principles of the present invention can apply. Environment 2300 includes TAP domains 2310 and 2320. TAP domain 2310 includes register set 2312 and TAP controller 2314. TAP domain 2320, on the other hand, includes register set 2322 but does not include a TAP controller.

In one embodiment, TAP domains 2310 and 2320 can be located on separate logic chips. In another embodiment, TAP domains 2310 and 2320 can be located on separate portions of a single logic chip. In this embodiment, the distinction between TAP domains 2310 and 2320 may represent a scenario in which it is undesirable to route common control signals between TAP controller 2314 and register sets 2312 and 2322. While other implementation contexts exist, the distinction between TAP domains 2312, 2322 generally represents a scenario where multiple TAP controllers could be implemented to support different sets of registers 2312, 2322.

Elimination of a TAP controller is afforded through the provision of TAP interface 1010. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 23, TAP interface 1010 enables distributed TAP control by enabling TAP controller 2314 in TAP domain 2310 to control the access to register set 2322 in TAP domain 2320.

This form of distributed TAP control should be contrasted with conventional efforts to integrate multiple TAP domains through the daisy chaining of multiple TAP controllers. In this framework, the serial connection of multiple TAP controllers introduces significant latency effects on the movement of data between the TAP registers.

With distributed TAP control, integration of multiple TAP domains is achieved without significant latency effects. Prior to describing the process of distributed TAP control, an embodiment of TAP interface 1010 is first provided. In one embodiment, TAP interface 1010 is based on the interface signals that are provided below in Table 13.

TABLE 13 Signal Name Direction Description ETT_TCK In This signal is not an output from the core, but is the input to the TAP controller in the core. The TCB should use the same. ETT_TDI In This is the TDI signal from the EJTAG probe. As was the case with ETT_TCK, the TCB should use the same input as the TAP controller in the core. ETT_TRST_N In TAP reset. Asynchronous reset input from the EJTAG probe. This is also not a signal from the core, but directly from the probe input. ETT_SoftReset In The TAP controller state-machine is in Test-Logic-Reset state. ETT_Capture In The TAP controller state-machine is in Data-Capture state. This indicates the ETT_Inst[4:0] input is valid. ETT_Shift In The TAP controller state-machine is in Data-Shift state. ETT_Update In The TAP controller state-machine is in Data-Update state. This indicates the ETT_Inst[4:0] input is valid. ETT_Inst[4:0] In Current value of the instruction register in the TAP controller. This selects which TCB register is the target in the Capture and Update cycles. ETT_TCBData Out Serial output data, synchronous to ETT_TCK rising edge. When the ETT_Shift is asserted and ETT_Inst[4:0] selects one of the three EJTAG TCB Registers, this output must present data.

As noted, the functionality of TAP controller 140 is used to prevent duplication of the entire TAP controller state machine in TCB 130. In one embodiment, the TAP controller state machine is based on a conventional JTAG state machine. The state diagram of the JTAG state machine is illustrated in FIG. 24.

State diagram 2400 illustrates the transitions between 16 different states. Transitions between states are based upon the test mode (TMS) signal. The TMS signal is the control signal for a TAP controller. For example, a TMS signal value of ‘0’ will cause a transition from the Test-Logic-Reset state to the Run-Test/Idle state.

The TMS signal is part of a TAP access port that also includes the test clock (TCK) signal, the test data in (TDI) signal, the test data out (TDO) signal, and the optional test reset (TRST) signal. The TCK signal is the clock that controls the updating of the TAP controller and the shifting of data through the instruction or selected data register(s); the TDI signal is the test data input to the instruction or selected data register(s); the TDO signal is the test data output from the instruction or selected data register(s); and the TRST signal is the optional test reset input that asynchronously resets the TAP controller.

The TAP controller state machine controls the TAP reset and access to instruction and data registers. The state transitions in the TAP controller state machine occur on the rising edge of TCK or when TRST goes low. The TMS signal determines the transition at the rising edge of TCK. The behavior of some of the functional states illustrated in FIG. 24 is briefly described below.

In the Select-IR-Scan state, an instruction register scan sequence is initiated. With TMS=0, the Capture-IR state is entered. In the Capture-IR state, the instruction register is connected to a shift register and the contents of the instruction register are loaded in parallel to the shift register.

After the instruction register contents are captured, the TAP controller state machine enters into the Shift-IR state. In the Shift-IR state, the shift register is connected to TDI and TDO. The contents of the shift register can then be serially shifted out to TDO while the TDI values are serially shifted into the shift register.

After the shifting is complete, the Update-IR state is entered. In the Update-IR state, the contents of the shift register (i.e., those TDI values that were shifted in) are loaded in parallel to the instruction register. Through this process, the contents of the instruction register can be retrieved and/or a new value can be placed into the instruction register.

As illustrated in FIG. 24, the same process of capturing/loading data from/into an instruction register can also be applied to a selected data register. This process would be initiated using the Select-DR-Scan state.

In accordance with the present invention, the TAP controller state machine in the processor core is used to control register access in TCB 130. This TAP-like access is enabled through the TAP interface signals of Table 13. The signals of TAP interface 1010 are now compared with the set of conventional TAP signals TCK, TMS, TDI, TDO, and TRST.

Each of the TCK, TDI, and TRST signals have counterparts in TAP interface 1010, i.e., ETT_TCK, ETT_TDI, and ETT_TRST_N, respectively. Each of the ETT_TCK, ETT_TDI, and ETT_TRST_N signals represent the same inputs signals that are provided to TAP controller 140. Likewise, ETT_TCBData is a counterpart to the TDO signal that carries the data that was stored in the accessed register.

Significantly, TAP interface 1010 does not include a counterpart to the conventional TMS signal. As noted, the TMS signal is a control signal for the TAP controller. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, however, the TCB 130 does not include a separate TAP controller to control access to the TCB TAP registers 1060. Instead, TAP controller 140 is used to control access to the TCB TAP registers 1060 in a distributed manner.

In general, this form of distributed control is based on signals that indicate the current state of TAP controller 140. In one embodiment, these signals can indicate the state of TAP controller 140 through the communication of encoded state information. For example, in one embodiment, the 16 states of the TAP controller state machine can be identified using a 4-bit binary number. The TAP interface 1010 could then include one or more signals that would identify the current state through the transmission of the 4-bit number.

In another embodiment, TAP interface 1010 indicates the state of TAP controller 140 through a decoded state communication. An example of a decoded state communication is illustrated by the ETT_SoftReset, ETT_Capture, ETT_Shift, and ETT_Update signals of Table 13. Each of the ETT_SoftReset, ETT_Capture, ETT_Shift, and ETT_Update signals correspond to a state of the TAP controller state machine of FIG. 24. In particular, the ETT_SoftReset signal corresponds to the Test-Logic-Rest state, the ETT_Capture signal corresponds to the Capture-DR state, the ETT_Shift signal corresponds to the Shift-DR state, and the ETT Update signal corresponds to the Update-DR state. It should be noted that TAP interface 1010 does not include signals that correspond to xx-IR states, because only the TAP controller includes an instruction register.

To illustrate the use of these signals, a detailed description of the operation of TAP interface 1010 is now provided. Briefly, it should be noted that TAP interface 1010 is fully synchronous to the clock ETT_TCK. All inputs are captured at rising clock edge and the ETT_TCBData output changes only as a result of rising clock edge as well. All the ETT_xx inputs from the core, are fully registered outputs of the core. TCB 130 can anticipate very early timing on the assertion of these inputs. The ETT_TCBData output is not captured into a rising edge register in the core, but rather multiplexed directly to the ETT_TDO output register, which changes state on falling edge ETT_TCK. TCB 130 guarantees good timing on this output, preferably directly from a rising edge ETT_TCK register.

FIG. 25 illustrates a timing diagram for access to a register 1060 in TCB 130. In the first two cycles (timing section 2510), the ETT_TRST_N signal is asserted. Upon assertion of the ETT_TRST_N signal, the selection of the instruction register begins in the TAP controller state machine using the TMS signal. As noted, the TMS signal is not used by TCB 130.

In timing section 2520, TAP controller 140 has its internal instruction register set to 0x10. This value indicates that the TCB register to be accessed is the TCBCONTROLA register. This value is reflected on ETT_Inst[4:0].

In one embodiment, TCB 130 includes three TAP data registers, access to which is controlled by TAP controller 140. These TAP data registers are identified as TCBCONTROLA, TCBCONTROLB, and TCBDATA.

The TCBCONTROLA data register is used by the external probe (debugger) software to control tracing output from processor core 110. When the TCBCONTROLA data register is written, this register is checked and the values of corresponding input signals from TCB 130 to TGL 120 are modified. In one embodiment, the TCBCONTROLA register would include fields that correspond to the input signals included in Table 7. As an exception, the input signal PDI_OffChipTB (indicating whether trace data is being sent off-chip to an external trace memory) is based on the value of a field (OfC) in the TCBCONTROLB data register.

The TCBCONTROLB data register is generally used to control what to do with the trace information. In addition to driving the PDI_OffChipTB signal, the TCBCONTROLB data register also includes the fields of Table 14.

TABLE 14 Field Description WE Write Enable REG Register Select: This field select the registers accessible through the TCBDATA register. WR Write Registers: When set, the register selected by the REG field is written when TCBDATA is accessed. RM Read on-chip trace memory. When written to 1, the read address- pointer of the on-chip memory is set to point to the oldest memory location written since the last reset of pointers. Subsequent access to the TCBTW register (the register used to read trace words from the on-chip trace memory) through the TCBDATA register, will automatically increment the read pointer after each read. When the write pointer is reached, this bit is automatically reset to 0, and the TCBTW register will read all zeros. Once set to 1, writing 1 again will have no effect. The bit is reset by setting the TR bit or by reading the last Trace word in TCBTW. TR Trace memory reset. When written to one, the address pointers for the on-chip trace memory are reset to zero. Also the RM bit is reset to 0. This bit is automatically de-asserted back to 0, when the reset is completed. BF Buffer Full indicator that the TCB uses to communicate to external software in the situation that the on-chip trace memory is being deployed in the trace-from and trace-to mode. TM Trace Mode. This field determine how the trace memory is filled, when using the simple-break control in the trace IF to start or stop trace. In Trace-To mode, the on-chip trace memory is filled, continuously wrapping around, overwriting older Trace Words, as long as there is trace data coming from the core. In Trace-From mode, the on-chip trace memory is filled from the point that PDO_IamTracing is asserted, and until the on-chip trace memory is full. CR Off-chip Clock Ratio. Writing this field, sets the ratio of the core clock to the off-chip trace memory interface clock. Cal Calibrate off-chip trace interface. If set, the off-chip trace pins will produce a selected bit pattern in consecutive trace clock cycles. CA Cycle accurate trace. If set the trace will include stall information. EN Enable trace to on/off-chip (selected by OfC) memory.

Finally, the TCBDATA register is used to access the registers defined by the REG field of TCBCONTROLB. Regardless of which register or data entry is accessed through TCBDATA, the register is only written if the WR bit of TCBCONTROLB is set. For read only registers the WR bit of TCBCONTROLB does not matter.

As noted, the TCBCONTROLA, TCBCONTROLB, and TCBDATA are selected based on the value of the instruction register associated with TAP controller 140. The instruction register generally controls selection of the accessed data register. In one embodiment, the TCBCONTROLA, TCBCONTROLB, and TCBDATA registers are identified with codes 0x10, 0x11, and 0x12, respectively. These codes as well as the codes for the registers in the domain of the TAP controller 140 are illustrated in Table 5-1 of MIPS Technologies, EJTAG Specification, Rev. 2.60, Feb. 15, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

An embodiment of a high-level data path of the TCBCONTROLA, TCBCONTROLB, and TCBDATA registers is illustrated in FIG. 26. In the illustrated embodiment, data is read from and written to the selected TCBCONTROLA, TCBCONTROLB, and TCBDATA registers using shift register 2610. It should be noted that if one of the three TCB registers is unimplemented, access to the unimplemented register should work as a bypass register. Interaction with the TCB registers will become apparent from the continued discussion of timing diagram 2500.

As noted, the value of the selected TCB register is reflected on ETT_Inst[4:0] in timing section 2520. TAP controller 140 then enters the Capture-DR state. This state transition is reflected on the ETT_Capture signal in timing section 2530.

When ETT_Capture is set, the next rising edge on ETT_TCK updates shift register 2610, with the value of the register selected by ETT_Inst[4:0] (in this case TCBCONTROLA). The assertion of ETT_Shift is based on the entering of the TAP controller state machine into the Shift-DR state.

In the following 32 clock cycles shift register 2610 then receives write data on ETT_TDI, and presents read data on ETT_TCBData. As illustrated in timing section 2530, the read data is output on ETT_TCBData beginning with Do0 (LSB first), while write data is input on ETT_TDI beginning with Di0 (LSB first). This shifting continues for 32 clock cycles and ends in timing section 2540.

One or more cycles after ETT_Shift is de-asserted, the ETT_Update signal will be asserted for one cycle. The assertion of the ETT_Update signal is based on the entering of the TAP controller state machine into the Update-DR state. The assertion of ETT_Update is the signal to write the current contents of shift register 2610 to the register selected by ETT_Inst[4:0] (in this case TCBCONTROLA). The TAP register access would then complete.

In operation, TAP controller 140 will be moved to access other registers, thereby eventually changing the contents of the ETT_Inst[4:0] pins. Even though ETT_Inst[4:0] is asserted long before the ETT_Capture signal, and de-asserted long after the assertion of the ETT_Update signal (see timing section 2550), TCB 130 should only sample the ETT_Inst[4:0] value when either ETT_Capture or ETT_Update is asserted.

As described, the specification of TAP interface 1010 further enables the customization of TCB 130. With knowledge of the trace interface 180 and TAP interface 1010 specifications, third-party designers can create their own TCB solution. This TCB solution can be designed to support a particular memory interface, an example of which was described with respect to the trace message formats and trace words of FIGS. 11–22. Regardless of the memory interface that is defined, the customized TCB solution can be applied to any processor core that supports trace interface 180 and TAP interface 1010.

In addition to implementations of the invention using hardware, the invention can be embodied in a computer usable medium configured to store a computer readable program code. The program code causes the enablement of the functions or fabrication, or both, of the invention disclosed herein.

For example, this can be accomplished through the use of general programming languages (e.g., C, C++, etc.), hardware description languages (HDL) including Verilog HDL, VHDL and so on, or other programming and/or circuit (i.e., schematic) capture tools available in the art.

The program code can be disposed in any known computer usable (e.g., readable) storage medium including semiconductor memory, magnetic disk, optical disc (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.) and as a computer data signal embodied in a computer usable (e.g., readable) transmission medium (e.g., carrier wave or any other medium including digital, optical or analog-based medium). As such, the code can be transmitted over communication networks including the Internet and intranets.

It is understood that the functions accomplished by the invention as described above can be represented in a core (e.g., a microprocessor core) which is embodied in programming code and transformed to hardware as part of the production of integrated circuits. Also, the invention may be embodied as a combination of hardware and software.

While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A tracing system, comprising: a processor core; trace generation logic coupled to said processor core; and a trace capture block in communication with said trace generation logic, said trace capture block receiving trace information from said trace generation logic using a set of signals that include an instruction completion status signal, a data bus signal, and a transmission type signal that identifies data transmitted via said data bus signal, wherein said trace capture block outputs fixed-length trace words, said fixed-length trace words selectively including a plurality of trace messages, wherein a format of a trace message is selected from a plurality of distinct trace message formats based on information received via said set of signals.
 2. The tracing system of claim 1, further comprising a trace memory.
 3. The tracing system of claim 1, wherein said set of signals further includes a transmission end signal that identifies a last cycle of a transmission on said data bus, and a transmission mode signal that identifies a mode of transmission on said data bus.
 4. The tracing system of claim 3, wherein said plurality of distinct trace message formats includes a trace message format that includes a header and information received via said instruction completion status signal, and a second trace message format that includes a header, information received via said instruction completion status signal, information received via said data bus signal, information received via said transmission type signal, information received via said transmission end signal, and information received via said transmission mode signal.
 5. The tracing system of claim 4, wherein said plurality of distinct trace message formats further includes a third trace message format that includes a single bit that identifies when no significant information has been traced in a designated cycle.
 6. The tracing system of claim 5, wherein said plurality of distinct trace message formats further includes a fourth trace message format that includes a header that signals an overflow condition.
 7. The tracing system of claim 1, wherein said processor core includes multiple instruction pipelines.
 8. The tracing system of claim 7, wherein said plurality of distinct trace message formats includes a trace message format that includes program order information.
 9. A tracing system, comprising: a trace message formatter having an input for receiving trace data and an output for transmitting trace messages in one of a plurality of trace message formats; and a trace word formatter having an input for receiving trace messages from said trace message formatter and an output for transmitting trace words, wherein at least one trace word includes at least part of a first trace message in a first trace message format and at least part of a second trace message in a second trace message format.
 10. The tracing system of claim 9, wherein at least two of said plurality of trace message formats are of different lengths.
 11. The tracing system of claim 9, wherein said trace word formatter is configured to output trace words of a fixed length.
 12. The tracing system of claim 11, wherein said trace word formatter is configured to sequentially includes a plurality of received trace messages into a single trace word.
 13. The tracing system of claim 12, wherein said fixed-length trace word includes a type field and a data field.
 14. The tracing system of claim 13, wherein said type field selectively indicates a start point in a trace word of a first new trace message included in said trace word, wherein said start point occurs after completion of bits from a previous trace message that was started in a previous trace word.
 15. The tracing system of claim 14, wherein said start point is chosen from a set of eligible start points that occur at every n^(th) bit position.
 16. The tracing system of claim 15, wherein said start point of said first new trace message in said trace word is chosen to minimize the storage of sign extended bits from a previous trace message.
 17. The tracing system of claim 12, wherein a portion of a trace message that does not fit into a trace word is included in a following trace word.
 18. A computer program product comprising: computer-readable program code for causing a computer to describe a trace message formatter having an input for receiving trace data and an output for transmitting trace messages in one of a plurality of trace message formats; computer-readable program code for causing a computer to describe a trace word formatter having an input for receiving trace messages from said trace message formatter and an output for transmitting trace words, wherein at least one trace word includes at least part of a first trace message in a first trace message format and at least part of a second trace message in a second trace message format; and a computer-usable storage medium that stores said computer-readable program codes.
 19. A tracing method, comprising: receiving trace data; generating a trace message in one of a plurality of trace message formats, wherein a trace message format is selected to eliminate unneeded information contained within said received trace data; and incorporating said generated trace message in a fixed-length trace word, wherein said fixed-length trace word is capable of including a variable number of trace messages.
 20. The tracing method of claim 19, wherein at least two of said plurality of trace message formats are of different lengths.
 21. The tracing method of claim 19, wherein said trace data includes data communicated via a set of signals, said set of signals including an instruction completion status signal; a data bus signal; a transmission type signal that identifies data transmitted via said data bus signal; a transmission end signal that identifies a last cycle of a transmission on said data bus; and a transmission mode signal that identifies a mode of transmission on said data bus.
 22. The tracing method of claim 21, wherein one of said plurality of trace message formats is a trace message format that consists of a header and data communicated via said instruction completion status signal.
 23. The tracing method of claim 21, wherein one of said plurality of trace message formats is a trace message format that includes data communicated via said instruction completion status signal, said data bus signal, said transmission type signal, said transmission end signal, and said transmission mode signal.
 24. A tracing method, comprising: receiving trace data; generating a trace message; incorporating said generated trace message in a trace word, wherein said trace word is capable of including a variable number of trace messages; wherein said incorporating comprises incorporating only a part of said generated trace message in said trace word, wherein a portion of said generated trace message that has not been incorporated into said trace word is incorporated into a following trace word.
 25. The tracing method of claim 24, wherein trace words that are generated have a fixed length.
 26. A tracing method, comprising: receiving trace data; generating a trace message, wherein said generating comprises generating a trace message in one of a plurality of trace message formats, wherein at least two of said plurality of trace message formats are of different lengths; incorporating said generated trace message in a trace word, wherein said trace word is capable of including a variable number of trace messages. 